The FCC decision prompted a widespread backlash. Earlier this week Washington State signed a law in direct opposition to the FCC, and it said it would stop Internet Service Providers from blocking websites or offering fast lane Internet access to companies willing to pay.

In December Pai succeeded in getting the law repealed, although the White House Office of Management and Budget must sign off on some aspects before it takes legal effect (which could take a few months).

And the moment it is understood that lawmakers in about two dozen US states have introduced bills similar to Washington State. And multiple governors, including in New York and Montana, have signed executive actions that prohibit ISPs with state contracts from blocking or slowing data on their lines.

And this is on top of a dozen challenges filed by 22 state attorneys general, public interest groups, internet companies, a California county and the state’s Public Utilities Commission.

Reuters reported that New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Pennsylvania are among the states challenging the decision, arguing the FCC cannot make “arbitrary and capricious” changes to existing policies and that it misinterpreted and disregarded “critical record evidence on industry practices and harm to consumers and businesses.”

Court Selected

In order to deal with all of these challenges, the US Judicial Panel on Multidistrict litigation said it had randomly selected the US Ninth Circuit Court in San Francisco to hear the consolidated challenges.

The FCC reportedly declined to comment on the decision, although Chairman Ajit Pai has said he is confident the order will be upheld.